Parker slams Bordelais over fraud case July 24, 2003
Adam Lechmere 24 July 2003
American critic Robert Parker has lashed out at the Bordeaux authorities, accusing them of unfairly persecuting his translator in order to embarrass him.
In a case which Parker described as 'labyrinthine', Hanna Agostini, who translates the writer's wine guides into French, has been accused of fraudulently using his headed notepaper. If the allegation is founded, Agostini could face charges of forgery, use of forged documents and concealment of a breach of trust. She emphatically denies any wrongdoing.
Now in an interview with UK newspaper the Guardian, Parker – who numbers some of the most influential names in France amongst his friends – suggests his 'enemies' in Bordeaux are attempting to embarrass and discredit him.
'I am the most powerful person in the wine world but I think I have plenty of enemies, and I think they are probably sick and tired of me having a stronghold over the fine wine business in France,' he told veteran reporter Suzanne Goldenberg.
Parker confirmed to decanter.com he stood by his words to the newspaper. He suggests his unwillingness to kowtow to some of the most ancient names in Bordeaux is 'irritating' to what he describes as the 'old guard'.
'The latest proof of such hostility…Parker says, is a labyrinthine legal suit against [Agostini] which he sees as an attempt to embarrass and discredit him,' the Guardian says.
Elsewhere in the interview Parker has strong words for Burgundy expert and Decanter writer Clive Coates, who said the critic's famous palate missed the subtleties an Englishman's more refined sense would pick up. 'In England,' Coates says, 'we have an appreciation for the delicate which perhaps the Americans miss.'
Parker responds, 'I think it is code for vulgar American wine-taster, not educated at Oxford. It's like saying I only find Pamela Anderson attractive.'
Robert Parker will be in Bordeaux in September in order to taste the 2002 vintage. He did not taste the En Primeurs in April because of the wishes of his family.
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